Author: Andy Lindquist

Lights Regency Ballroom April 6, 2022 Photo by Raymond Ahner from an earlier performance It seemed fitting that the chorus to the opening song, “Prodigal Daughter,” was “Baby I’m Back,” as Lights is indeed back from her covid-induced slumber. While the talented multi-instrumentalist had kept herself busy during the lockdown, pumping out plenty of big-name collaborations and a brand new album, where Lights really shines is on stage playing in front of her fans. So, Wednesday night’s show at the Regency Ballroom was indeed a memorable one as it was the start of a long-awaited touring cycle for Lights and…

Baroness Starline Social Club, Oakland March 25, 2022 Photos by Kyle Hotchkiss (IG: khmusicpress) For their first large-scale tour of the US since the start of the pandemic, Baroness decided to do something a little bit different by letting fans vote on the setlist each night. Additionally, the band decided to scale down their production and only play small, intimate clubs with no opening act. So, fans of Baroness were treated to a one-of-a-kind “by request” set on a Friday night at the Starline Social Club in Oakland. To drive home just how intimate a venue this was for a…

Judas Priest Fox Theater, Oakland May 12, 2022 Photos by Raymond Ahner 2020 was shaping up to be a monumental year for heavy metal band Judas Priest, who were poised to launch a massive tour in celebration of their 50th anniversary until COVID forced them to change course. Then, when the tour was finally able to resume in 2021, guitarist Richie Faulkner suffered an aortic dissection while on stage and was rushed to the hospital, requiring over ten hours of heart surgery to save his life. So, Bay Area fans had been waiting for quite a while for Judas Priest…

Exodus Jack London Square March 6, 2022 Photos by Raymond Ahner It had been quite a while since Exodus had a homecoming show in Oakland, so a Sunday afternoon show in a stage set up down the street from the Oakland Metro was a one-of-a-kind performance for many reasons. The band came on stage as the afternoon sun was setting to rip through the new song “The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)” from their latest album, 2021 Persona Non Grata. Anchored by some chunky guitar playing from Gary Holt and Lee Altus, the song just ripped through the sound…

Killswitch Engage Warfield February 23, 2022 Photos by Raymond Ahner. Fans had been waiting for a long time to finally see the incredible metalcore double-headlining bill of Killswitch Engage and August Burns Red, with the tour being postponed multiple times over the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Killswitch Engage (KSE) headlined the night with a furious 18-song set that spanned their entire career, with plenty of surprises thrown in. The band opened the set with the crushing stomp of “Unleashed,” which featured plenty of dueling guitars from Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel. What makes a band…

The Wonder Years Regency Ballroom Feb 9, 2022 “You know who we are, you know why we’re here,” sang Dan “Soupy” Campbell a few songs into The Wonder Years set at the Regency Ballroom on a Wednesday night. The six-piece pop-punk/emo band was on their first post-pandemic tour, playing two of their most seminal albums, The Upsides and Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing and knew that the nearly sold-out audience was there to see the band play many songs that had not been performed live in decades. Starting with the anthemic “Came Out Swinging”, the band…

Decibel Magazine Tour UC Theatre, Berkeley February 5, 2022 Photos by Raymond Ahner One of the biggest losses in the past two years of the COVID pandemic has been the decimation of the live music scene, especially in the extreme metal underground. Many of these bands are known for their exciting live shows, with legions of devoted fans typically crowd surfing and moshing to the music. As the country slowly comes out of the pandemic, live music has returned, particularly in the metal underground where large-scale touring of the US is now possible. Decibel Magazine is known to sponsor one…

Chvrches Bill Graham Civic Center December 16, 2021 Photos by Geoffrey Smith Few bands have come off the COVID-19 touring shutdown as strong as CHVRCHES, who rolled into town on Thursday night touring in support of their fantastic new album Screen Violence. While the band is known for its dense programmed electronic sound, the group has added a live drummer, Jonny Scott, to their touring lineup. Having plenty of booming drums to complement each song definitely helped the live sound immensely. The band strode onto the stage behind a massive LED screen and pulsing lights, rolling through the driving “He…

Phoebe Bridgers Greek Theatre, Berkeley October 16, 2021 Photos by Greg Chow (@gregchow). There was a feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air as one walked the winding path through the UC Berkeley campus to the Hearst Greek Theatre on a Saturday night. A long line to get into the sold-out show stretched all the way down the street in both directions. After a seemingly endless stream of covid related restrictions on big events, this was clearly the first big concert many attendees had been to in years. As the crowd swelled, so did the palpable sense of anticipation…

Chvrches Screen Violence Glassnote Records After a bid for pop glory on Love Is Dead, Chvrches have returned to their classic sound found on Screen Violence, and the result is their strongest overall album of their career. The key to Chvrches has always been synthesizing the old sounds of 80\s synth pop and 90s indie rock into something brand new that feels fresh and vital. While Love Is Dead had some strong songs, the production was a bit too overbearing and many of the arrangements were a bit too simple. Screen Violence sees the band returning to self-production and the…

Deafheaven Infinite Granite Sargent House There were some indicators on the previous Deafheaven album, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, that the band was expanding their sonic palette, and that new arrangements and even clean vocals were going to be an integral part of their sound moving forward. Still, the total absence of any vestiges of the old Deafheaven sound on Infinite Granite is still a bit jarring for the listener. Gone are the atonal bouts of fury that characterized their previous work, no more of George Clarke’s vicious snarls, instead we hear him actually singing. It’s clear from the opening track,…

Epica Omega Nuclear Blast Records  Few bands truly live up to their name the way Epica does. As one could expect from hearing their name, the band excels in crafting the most epic-sounding symphonic metal around. And on this, their 8th full-length album, the Dutch sextet has outdone themselves, putting out an album as good as anything they have done. What makes Epica such an incredible band to listen to is the sheer density of their compositions. Even from the opening notes of “Alpha – Anteludium” you know the band has mapped out every single note and every single piece…

Julien Baker Little Oblivions Rough Trade After two albums of very direct and confessional singer-songwriter music, replete with sparse guitar-based arrangements, Julien Baker has made the big jump to a full band record on Little Oblivious. The addition of drums along with much denser overall production really works wonders for Baker’s evocative and personal songwriting. This becomes apparent on the opening song “Hardline,” which is driven by a series of programmed drum loops. Baker played all of the instruments and percussion on Little Oblivions, giving the record a strong and coherent sound. Songs like “Faith Healer” demonstrate this newfound songcraft,…

Diamond Head Lightning to the Nations 2020 Silver Lining Music There are few bands in the metal world as revered as the legendary Diamond Head. The band’s self-produced debut album, 1980’s White Album (due to it’s original pressing in a plain white sleeve) or more well known as Lightning to the Nations (after the opening song), was one of the greatest records to come out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, influencing the likes of Metallica. In fact, Metallica were such huge fans that they have covered Diamond Head songs on numerous occasions, and their continued support of…

Pallbearer Forgotten Days Nuclear Blast Few bands in the metal underground have shone as brightly as Pallbearer, who have developed into one of the best doom metal bands around over the course of their three previous albums. However, what sets the band apart is their willingness to expand their sound to include prog-rock elements, something that becomes apparent when listening to their newest full-length record Forgotten Days. While the production still has plenty of grime and grit to it, the band has honed down their sound: equal parts de-tuned lumbering riffs and spacy prog-rock sections. This is apparent from the…

Ohms Deftones After a decade of sonic experimentation, Deftones have returned to their original punishing metal style, delivering one of the better albums in their career. While the previous three Deftones records, Diamond Eyes, Koi No Yokan, and Gore, each had plenty of great moments, there was a distinct lack of metal on many of those albums. Gore, in particular, featured very little input from guitarist Stephan Carpenter. Sensing the need to shake things up, Deftones enlisted the legendary metal producer Terry Date, who the band had not worked with since 2003’s self-titled album. The return of Date and Carpenter…

S&M2 Metallica Buy While the idea of Metallica performing a concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (SFSO) might seem ridiculous on paper, the results are anything but. To celebrate the new opening of the Chase Center in San Francisco last year Metallica once again teamed up with SFSO to put on a memorable performance that saw the band’s searing heavy metal merged seamlessly with the symphony. Seeing as this was the second time the band had done this type of collaboration, the resulting album/movie was appropriately titled S&M2. Recorded and filmed over the course of two sold-out nights, the…

Lord of the Lost Swang Song III Napalm Records (Buy) Few bands in the metal world are as prolific as Lord of the Lost. Between live releases, studio albums, and symphonic ensemble records, the band churns out gripping and dynamic music at a dizzying clip. Swan Songs III is another ensemble piece featuring new songs and symphonic reworkings of songs from their most-recent albums. The double album starts out with 12 new songs that see the band working with the Lord of the Lost Ensemble to craft some gripping and majestic pieces. Frontman Chris Harms has truly mastered his vocal…

Spirit World Pagan Rhythms In a day and age where most metal sounds overly polished and mechanical, Spirit World set out to prove to the world that real metal is not dead yet, far from it. The mastermind behind Spirit World, Stu Folsom, has pulled out all the stops on this album in creating a modern version of the sublime hardcore/metal releases of the past. You won’t find overcomposed and overproduced set pieces here, no, instead you will find plenty of pummeling riffs, harsh vocals, and slamming blast beats. The record’s lyrical themes focus on Satan returning to earth to…

After two albums of mostly-instrumental music, Khruangbin have taken the big leap towards vocals on their third full-length release, Mordechai. For those of you wondering, yes, the results are great and each new twist and turn the band goes through on this record is mesmerizing. The trio of Mark Speer, Laura Lee, and Donald Johnson have continued to grow and adapt as musicians, as evident by the laid-back opener “First Class.” With Johnson’s sublime pocket groove and Speer’s Latin-influenced guitar work, the track hits all the right notes. The next song, the lead single “You and I,” is one of…